Damage caused by excessive unloading of beer kegs on Chamberlain Street in Ames, Iowa, has caused the city to install a rubber sidewalk this week. "Over time, heavy kegs hitting the pavement damaged the concrete, causing impact damage points, and then larger cracks formed throughout the sidewalk." Rather than repair the damaged concrete over and over again, they looked to Rubbersidewalks Inc. to provide a surface made of recycled tires, able to stand up to keg beatings for years to come. Assuming that local Iowa State University students will continue drinking beer for a long time, the rubberized sidewalk should pay off. [via Super Punch]
Schlitz, with Sunshine Vitamin D, gives you the sunny source of health you need the whole year round. Beer is good for you—but Schlitz, with Sunshine Vitamin D, is extra good for you.
Now that's good marketing, not like today's ads that try to sell us sex and youthful energy. If only I had grown up in the 1930s—then I totally could have gotten my vitamin D from Schlitz Beer. [via copyranter]
A letter from over 100 college coaches recently urged the NCAA to phase out beer and other alcohol ads from its sports telecasts, stating that they were "troubled by the prominence of alcohol advertising in televised college sports." The petition received support from the Campaign for Alcohol-Free Sports TV at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, whose director George A. Hacker deplored the "hypocrisy and illogic of NCAA's sell-out to beer peddlers." The letter was also supported by 59 college presidents and 239 athletic directors.
Alcohol advertising is currently limited by the NCAA to one minute per hour of any telecast, and may only promote products with alcohol levels of 6% or lower. Should the NCAA follow the coaches' suggestion and eliminate beer ads altogether, or should the coaches give in to beer as a natural part of college life?
Small-scale distilleries are on the upswing nationwide, as consumers take greater interest in locally sourced products and states reassess the tax revenue such operations can generate. And while many distilleries are truly independent startups, many talented brewers who have learned the business from making quality beer are either adding distilleries to existing operations, or working in tandem with like-minded distillers.
Garbee spotlights Ballast Point Brewing in San Diego, which has been making beer since 1996. Now with a 600-square-foot distillery, the owners are planning to add whiskey and rum to the list of libations they produce. This is a similar tack taken by Oregon-based McMenamins, a brewery that expanded into distilling whiskey, brandy, and gin (as well as opening restaurants and hotels), and by Rogue, another brewery in Oregon that now produces rum and gin.
Contemporary art and beer aren't two things you'd naturally pair together, but for the last 20 years, Beck's has supported up-and-coming artists by showcasing their work on beer bottle labels. Some big-time names you might recognize today have had labels: Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, and Jeff Koons.
This year, Beck's collaborated with London's Royal College of Art for its Beck's Canvas initiative. The bottles above feature the work of four of the college's graduates. They'll be available nationwide August 1, for a limited time only. Who knew beer could get so artsy? [via The Dieline]
There's a little-known secret that's actually not so secret anymore: beer pairs better with cheese than wine does. Sure there are some matches made in heaven with wine and cheese, like Champagne paired with a Triple Crème. But there are also lots of potential pitfalls; try a blue cheese with a big, bold red and you will see what I mean. Beer, on the other hand, is a much more forgiving complement to cheese. People often use similar terms to describe the flavors of both beer and cheese: nutty, caramelly, earthy, and tangy, to name a few. Many beers and cheeses also share a similar origin in the farmhouses and monasteries of medieval Europe.
Whereas your chances of finding a wine and cheese pairing that falls flat is rather high, most pairings of beer and cheese are rather serviceable, and many are sublime. Following are some tips for increasing your chances at beer and cheese pairing success.
Well, it's official. Now when your beer snob friends sneer at you for drinking a Bud, you can tell them it's a Belgian beer. Anheuser-Busch took the $52 billion takeover offer from Belgian brewer InBev.
Aaaah, beer. In my opinion, there are few things more satisfying on a hot day. For those of you of like mind, here are a few nifty ideas for getting your beer on:
Tool Bottle Openers
Bearing likeness to pliers and wrenches, these tool bottle openers will impart a greater sense of productivity to the opening of your next brew. $25, from The Curiosity Shoppe
Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthaldidn't think minors should play WiiWare's soon-to-be-released Beer Pong, even if the beer was just virtual. Inspired by the popular frat drinking sport, the video game originally earned a T-rating (for teens), regardless of blatant alcohol references. In response to Blumenthal, the game's publisher JV Games cut the booze and will instead release Pong Toss, a "cleaner" E-rated version (for everyone).
Presumably, water fills these red plastic cups, not Natty Light, and the players launching virtual ping-pong balls aren't actually pledging a Dartmouth frat (where the tradition allegedly started). With or without the "beer" preface, "pong" still gets the point across.
Should Pong Toss still get an E-rating? (Won't someone think of the children?)
Rustico executive chef Frank Morales showing off his beer pops, banned last year, but back again.
Almost a year ago to the day, the beer-centric restaurant Rustico in Alexandria, Virginia had to remove "beer pops" from their menu. The grown-up popsicles, available in flavors like "Raspbeer-y," didn't jibe with Virginia legislation. According to the state's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), beer must be served in its original container, or served immediately after pouring. So where does that leave the brew pops, or other items on the menu like framboise-marinated red onions in the Hearts of Romaine Salad? When does beer become less liquid and more solid food?
Rustico executive chef Frank Morales challenged ABC and thanks to a bill sponsored by Delegate Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) and Senator Patsy Ticer (D-Alexandria), the brew-haha is over. Starting July 1, the $5 frozen brewskies will come in flavors including framboise, cherry kriek, peche, cassis, banana, plum, and chocolate stout.Rustico: 827 Slaters Lane, Alexandria VA 22314 (map); 703-224-5051; rusticorestaurant.com
How do you sell wine to young 20-somethings with a zest for life? The same way you sell beer: pools, parties, and babes. ...And an endorsement from the NFL. Watch the commercial after the jump and you too may replace your beer with Cabernet Sauvignon.
With hops prices skyrocketing as fast as gasoline, a pint of beer can run you at least five dollars, and it might not even be a real pint. Some bars are sneakily shrinking glasses from the traditional pint size of 16 ounces to only 14 ounces. According to the Wall Street Journal, two of the world's largest glassware makers (Libbey and Cardinal International) both noted that "orders of smaller beer glasses have risen over the past year." To keep drinkers fooled, the glasses have a thicker bottom or shaft, or bartenders just devote the extra space to foamy head.
Over at Beer Advocate, a forum related to the article has emerged, and many consumers believe formal legislation should be passed to keep bars in check. Do we really need a beer police? Maybe so. One member passed along a link to the National Full Pints Petition, an effort in England to overturn a current law, which states that a pint only needs to be 90% full. Will the same happen here? It would be nice to have some consistency in pours, especially on an international level. Nobody wants to be less drunk for more money.
Oh, if only Samuel L. Jackson-branded beer were a reality. Each sip would be an intense hit of fermented starch and Samuel L. Jackson screaming obscenities in your ear. The fun would never end!
This parody commercial from The Dave Chappelle Show spoofs an old Samuel Adams commercial. I'm unable to find it online, but Chappelle's version is probably more entertaining anyway.
Anheuser Busch and Miller have historically fought over the beer market, with the former ahead by nearly 30 percent of sales. Beer blogging, however, could change all that.
Enter Brew Blog, the brainchild of two Miller communications consultants who created the web media arm as a source of daily-updated beer industry analysis. It's not trying to be Miller-centric, but instead cover beer news, with topics ranging from new Australian craft beers to those Heineken mini-kegs and Costco's creation of a generic-brand German lager. There are, however, a bunch of Miller press releases sprinkled in between. The site doesn't hide its Miller affiliation, showcasing the "brought to you by..." message prominently on the homepage, but corporate blogging asks an interesting question: Can a site aiming to cover an entire niche market come from one corporation's mouthpiece? [Via Wall Street Journal]
You're in the East Village and you want a Grizzly Peak Marzen on draft. Think fast. Wandering in Midtown West, thirsty for a Brooklyn Pilsner. Where to turn? A few clicks later, BeerMenus.com has the answers. (Hop Devil Grill and St. Andrews, respectively). While MenuPages is strictly food and BeerAdvocate has a grasp on beer-focused web forums, this beer 2.0 site combines the two and includes prices, specific alcohol by volume and the beer medium (tap, casket, bottle, can). It's like Ask Jeeves for the boozer, but unfortunately only in New York for now. [via Webware]
In the Czech Republic, you're not limited to just drinking great beer; you can also bathe in it. Visit the spa at the Chodovar Family Brewery for the opportunity to wallow in beer and potentially benefit from increased circulation, decreased blood pressure, and purified skin. [via Coldmud]
They say if you want people to pay attention all you have to do is put up signs that say “free beer” or “free pizza”. It seems the same holds true when you put pizza in your beer.
Walking around Chicago’s supreme liquor warehouse, Binny’s South Loop, I’d spotted a case off tri-color bottles labeled Mamma Mia Pizza Beer sporting the cheesy faces of a couple of floppy Chef Boyardee-style chef hatted folks dubbed Chef Tom and Chef Athena. Turns out Tom and Athena Seefurth are just as cheesy as their pictures suggest. A closer look confirmed this was an ale brewed with oregano, basil, tomato, and garlic. Intellectually, I wanted to wretch, but as a man who loves organ meat, I know you always find great eats in unexpected places.
Surely Chef Tom and Athena knew this, as the bottles were marketed as singles and not in multi-packs. For a $1.99, even if it tasted like Natural Light or Milwaukee’s Best, my wallet wouldn’t sweat it.
At Ballast Point Brewing Company in San Diego, the brewing part might get toned down. With hops up from $6 to $30,according to the San Diego Reader, brewer Yuseff Cherney is struggling to make his Dorado Double India Pale Ale. Over at Pizza Port in nearby Carlsbad, Hop Suey Double IPA is also in harm's way. With worldwide hop acreage about one-fourth of what it was 15 years ago, microbrewers might be diluting signature flavors in the upcoming year, or even considering vintner's licenses.
My brackets got royally screwed after Georgetown's tragic loss, let's forget that b-word and embrace another: beer. The Washington Post has been updating a Beer Bracket with leagues divided by Lagers, Ales, Specialty & Fruit, and Dark. They're a bit ahead of the NCAA schedule with the Elite Eight already decided. It includes Flying Dog Old Scratch, Raven Lager, Stone Pale Ale, Troegs HopBack Amber Ale, Ommegang Hennepin, Oxford Raspberry Wheat, Sam Adams Honey Porter, and Hook & Ladder Backdraft Brown. Would your bracket win?
A nonic pint (left) and a tulip pint (right) flank fish and chips at Mc Donagh's, Galway, Ireland
Not all pint glasses are created equal.
In Ireland and Great Britain the internal volume of so-called "pint glasses" is regulated by state authorities in accordance with the imperial system of measure. As such, a state sanctioned pint glass (indicated by an official mark etched on each glass: a crown in the U.K., a circle bisected by a wavy line in the Republic of Ireland, or, in accordance with recent standards set to unify the mark throughout the European Union, the letters “CE” *) must hold a minimum of 20 imperial fluid ounces (the equivalent of about 19 US fluid ounces, or about 1.2 US pints), but the glasses are generally designed with slightly larger capacities than the minimum, ensuring plenty of room for a full imperial pint of beer topped off with an ample head of foam.
Editor's note: This week, it's, like, omigawd, totally '80s for our daily In Videos segment. Big hair, breakdancing, and before-they-were-big celebrity commercial appearances to the max. So kick back your fat-laced high tops and take a chill pill. —The Serious Eats Team
If you wanted to make something cool in the '80s, all you had to do was add some rapping. Doesn't matter if you were pushing chicken nuggets, beer, or kid's cereal—make it rhyme and dance and you've got yourself marketing gold!
Check out the commercials after the jump, plus a few bonus videos that were too good to pass up—you don't want to miss watching the Fat Boys enjoying an "all you can eat" at Sbarro in New York City in the mid-'80s.
How does a visually impaired person pick out a can of beer from other canned non-beer beverages? By feeling the braille on the top of the can—if you're in Japan, at least.
Beer manufacturers in Japan have started stamping braille on the top of cans that spells out "alcohol" or, if made by Kirin Brewery, "Kirin Beer." Whether this will increase the number of drunk blind people on the streets is not yet known.
Beer is the new wine. It’s the new coffee. It’s the liquid you want to learn more about—its origins, its aromas, its natural flavors highlighting specific foods. Forget the keg of Natty Lite in college; these folks take beer seriously. But then again, beer can never be too serious or pretentious. It’s basically just liquid bread.
Here's a round-up of favorite beer-loving bars and eateries in the Washington, D.C., area.
Ballantine Ale may no longer be a hit beer—the glory days fell apart during the '60s—but if you close your eyes, an Olde English 800 should do the trick. Once the fourth largest brewer in the 1940s and 50s, the ale later became a pop culture icon in an SNL skit in 2003, and two years later, a Notorious B.I.G. reference in his hit, "Long Kiss Goodnight." As Biggie Smalls professes: "distribute to kids who, take heart like Valentine, drink Ballantine, all the time." So drink up, kids.
How would you like to gulp down a frothy, steaming glass of...beer? According to American expat in Japan Peter Payne Japanese beer company Kirin is introducing Hot Beer, beer that is heated to about 120°F and accompanied by a cinnamon stick and sugar cubes. "The heat of the beer is supposed to bring out flavors not present when served cold, including a deep aroma not unlike that of coffee." If you're curious enough, you can try this at home by microwaving your own beer.
Following in the tradition of crafty potheads, some industrious folk brewed beer inside a hollowed-out pumpkin, and documented the process on a Flickr set. The beer had "a raw squash flavor up front and strong hop aftertaste. No bacterial contamination as far as we could tell."
Posted by Erin Zimmer, December 10, 2007 at 11:30 AM
Though Purim may be the official drinking night for Jews, one beer should go particularly well with latkes. He-Brew claims to be "a smidgen of Middle East" and "a dash of American West." As the only Kosher beer on the market, their mascot is a jolly Orthodox man with curly sidelocks, merrily double-fisting two bottles as if he's just won a wild round of dreidel. Talk about L'chaim!
The self-proclaimed "Chosen" beer is from a New York microbrewery, first conceived by a chutzpah-happy guy named Jeremy Cowan. His products prove his biblical literariness, which pluck allusions from the ever-seductive Song of Songs (Pomegranate Ale called "Origin") and the Book of Genesis, ("Jewbelation 11," inspired by the 11 stars Joseph envisioned). If that's not enough to tickle your punny bone, watch He-Brew's video ads.
Of course, they're too witty not to already think up the best Hanukkah pun ever. "Candles won't be the only thing getting lit" this year. Maybe we should all apply to their "Chosen" internship. Especially if they consider issuing payment in gelt. Check here for store listings, but quick word of the wise, they usually carry it at World Market.
About the author:Erin Zimmer, Serious Eats's Washington, D.C., correspondent, is a just-graduated Georgetown gal following her nose about town as Washingtonian magazine's Dining intern and Best Bites blogger. She got her start as the Hoya campus paper's food columnist, and since entering "real person-hood" has ached for her dining hall's omelet station.
Posted by Adam Kuban, November 26, 2007 at 1:15 PM
Great Guinness commercial from the same director who did those Sony Bravia ads. (You know, the rubber balls bouncing down the streets of San Francisco?) This time for Guinness:
Lift a glass to this: "Industrial beer is still the vast majority of the American market, and it’s not going away tomorrow, but there is no future in it. While industrial beers suffer flat or declining sales, craft brewers are experiencing double-digit growth. The big brewers now try to copy craft beers. European brewers, who once laughed at watery American beer, now look to the United States for inspiration."
Posted by Erin Zimmer, September 26, 2007 at 2:30 PM
Last week, the Gordon Biersch Brewery in D.C. tapped its Bavarian-style "Fest Bier" to ring in another Oktoberfest season. But what most people didn't notice was the more authentic bier on tap that didn't get a party. Although the scene felt Oktoberfestive, with revelers chugging down Fest Bier in liter-sized mugs—some boot-shaped, like in the movie Beerfest—the more traditional Marzen hardly got a nod.
According to Gordon Biersch brewmaster Jason Oliver, Marzen is closer to what original Oktoberfesters drank in the 1800s. With heavy wheat and malt tones, the caramel-colored beer is named after the German for March, the last month when Bavarian brewers can conceivably brew. (Warm weather ain't conducive to beer-making.) Over the summer, the liquid ages in caskets, and come Oktober-time, it's ready to go.
Treasury Department proposal would require "serving facts" on beer packaging. Alcohol containers currently aren't required to list alcohol content, calories, carbohydrates, fat, protein, etc. "Tastes great" would still be debatable, but at least you could garner a hint at whether a brew was "less filling." [Washington Post]
Hospitals strive to upgrade foods: "The trend, according to Todd Foutty, a chairman of the culinary competition, is consumer-driven. Gone are the days when sick people were considered patients rather than customers. Now, they have a choice about where they will get their treatment. 'Nobody wants to go to a hospital and eat hospital food,' Foutty said."
Bon appétit!: "A 'perfect storm' of ecological and social factors appears to be gathering force, threatening vast numbers of people with food shortages and price rises...." [The Guardian]
Eric Asimov's recent blog post on drinking beer with "wine people" reminded me of my first night on the floor as a sommelier at Babbo. Any time someone wanted a bottle from the cellar, I had to run down a flight of stairs, make sure not to bump into anyone running food, squeeze my way through the people crowding the maître d' (always brandishing a sweet, comforting smile even though I was freaking out on the inside), run down another flight of stairs, and search for the bottle in the enormous space. Then I would repeat the whole process on the way up. I broke a sweat in my first 30 minutes on the job, and this went on for the next seven hours.
At the end of the night, I pulled up to the bar to get my manager's drink, and Ken, the veteran bartender, asked this sage question: "So do you want a bionda [a light beer from the Chelsea Brewing Company] or a bruna [a darker beer from the same place]?"
"How did you know I wanted beer?" I asked naively.
Is every city tattooed with the new Miller Chill ads? On a bus ride this morning zipping between Union Station and Farragut North—the heart of D.C.'s busy office building district—exactly ten bus stop ads (every one except two) plugged the new beer-cum-margarita drink. The Spanglish is pretty entertaining. "Muy Refreshing," "Viva Refreshing," "a Nuevo Twist on Refreshment" or my favorite, "Beerveza"—but geez. That left only one Rush Hour 3 ad and a few nods to Citibank.
In Frank Bruni's review of Belgian restaurant Resto he mentions one of the more than 50 beers served: "Order the Kwak, a beverage and a puzzle in one. If you don’t remove its hourglass-shaped goblet from a wood cradle at just the right angle, you go thirsty. And if you don’t return it to the cradle just so, it goes horizontal."
A tip for Frank Bruni and anyone else unfamiliar with Kwak: it's perfectly acceptable to keep the glass in the cradle, raising the cradle and glass together to drink.
And there's a reason for the unusually shaped Kwak glass. Kwak was first brewed in 1791, in the days of the stage coach. Stage coaches would often stop at an inn for refreshment, but the coachmen were required to stay with the coach and horses. So that coachmen wouldn't have to go without, Pauwel Kwak, an innkeeper, had a special glass created for his beer. The shape of the glass enabled it to be hung on the coach and be easily held in a thick glove.
Last week I wrote about cooking with beer, so today it seems only fair to point to Josh Rubin of the Toronto Star on pairing food with beer with Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver, who "enjoys going toe-to-toe with sommeliers when it comes to food pairings. Cheese is a favourite tool for his battles, but he has also used stews, cassoulet, seafood and dessert."I've had some Iron Chef-style events where I'll be matching foods with beer, and the sommelier will be matching the same foods with wine," says Oliver. "But beer against wine is like fighting someone with one hand tied behind their back. I haven't lost yet, and the people in the audience doing the judging are usually wine people or friends of the sommelier." You could say no one's more qualified to speak on the subject than Oliver, who's written a book about it titled The Brewmaster's Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food.
It's also no coincidence that this story is from the Toronto Star—the city has a restaurant called the Beerbistro, where not only are 80% of menu items cooked with beer, but there is a "suggested beer pairing with every menu item along with a separate beer menu that includes product backgrounds, explanations of beer styles, and beer tasting notes, assists diners in exploring our large and carefully-researched selection of beers." They have twenty beers on tap, hundreds in bottles, and will recommend beer pairings to your tastes beyond what's on the menus. Chowhounders speak well of their food!
Mary Vuong of the Houston Chronicle talks to chefs and brewers about how cooking with beer can enhance the flavor of food. But if beer is so great to cook with or in food pairings, why does everyone always choose wine? "Marketing, Wagner replies. "Beer historically has done a lousy job" of selling itself as a serious beverage. People associate it with hot dogs, pizza, buffalo wings, bikini-clad women, juvenile humor, sporting events — nothing that suggests you stop and appreciate the drink."
To drink better, they’re willing to pay a premium. A Rogue Imperial India Pale Ale from Newport, Ore., goes for $13 for 750 milliliters, a price more comparable to wine than a six-pack. Even the O’Fallon Smoked Porter, which is best enjoyed with barbecue ribs, rings up at $4 per 22-ounce bottle. Boulevard craft beers will cost $7 to $13 for 750 milliliter bottles (about 24 ounces).
A growing segment of the population wants more flavorful products, more premium products,” Gatza says. And, like wine, "they will have several different beer styles in the refrigerator, from several breweries, so that they can match beer to the occasion."
Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 28, 2007 at 3:32 PM
The Denver Post's Ellen Sweets reviews Race Day Grub: Recipes From the NASCAR Family: "Replete with race-related catchphrases - "Speedy Starters," "Raceworthy Main Courses" and "Sweet Victories" - the 140-page cookbook gives entertaining insight into the lives of those who drive the circuit and how they eat on the road. The anecdotal material is engaging, and the recipes ain't half bad. Not all are off the beaten track ("What's Left in the Cabinet?" grilled chicken, sauerkraut pizza, "Conch and Jimmy Chowder") or made with prepared/ canned/packaged ingredients, either."
Three recipes to check out; the Crabmeat au Gratin and Shrimp and Vegetable Risotto look pretty good, but the Spicy Beer-Brined Pork Loin is practically calling my name.
Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 13, 2007 at 2:24 PM
"Well, folks, if risotto is rice dressed up for a night on the town, my husband has just stuffed a wad of cash into its pockets and told it not to return before dawn. Yes, those tell-tale red morsels of succelent sweet meat resting in the mounds of creamy risotto are indeed lobster. And that creamy and delicious sauce is made up of cheese, and yes, booze. Beer, to be precise. And then there’s a dollop of honey — just for sweetness." The happy pair behind the My Husband Cooks blog just posted a recipe for lobster and beer risotto that's making me swoon.
Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 8, 2007 at 4:38 PM
Fans of Lost, the next time you host a viewing party, why not go the extra step and make your food look like it's been air-dropped by the Hanso Foundation? All you need to do is print out from a PDF onto a label and pretty soon your beer will be Dharma Initiative Rations.
Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 1, 2007 at 4:27 PM
Abishiri Brewery in Japan's Hokkaido prefecture has started manufacturing a low-malt beer with milk in it named "Bilk", after learning local dairy farms were just throwing out their surplus milk. "After they put beer yeast and hops into the drink and began the fermentation process, the beverage looked and smelled like tea with milk. However, when fermentation was complete and the drink cooled down, it had the same color as beer." Bilk is supposed to have a fruity taste to it, I wonder if it's like Yakult?
India's Cobra Beer is looking to break into the elusive Cristal market by launching Krait Prestige Champagne Lager, a $12 bottle of beer that undergoes a second fermentation at Belgium's famous Rodenbach brewery.
"Instead of being the guy who brought cheap liquor, you are now Mr. Cutting Edge," remarks WiseBread with an astonishing lack of discernible sarcasm.
Indian beerpagne brewed in Poland, secondarily fermented in Belgium, and released to great fanfare in New York, New Jersey, and California?
Well, it's official. Now when your beer snob friends sneer at you for drinking a Bud, you can tell them it's a Belgian beer. Anheuser-Busch 
Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal 
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